Wire coiling machine



MarHIZG 1963 s. A. PLATT WIRE COILING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9. 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 8 INVENTOR 54 5TEPHEA/ A. PZATT QM WW ATTORNEYS March 26, 1963 s. A. PLATT 3,082,810

WIRE COILING MACHINE I20 I56 F 5 INVENTOR IG. STEPHEN A. gzrr ATTORNEY 5 March 26, 1963 s. A. PLATT 3,

. WIRE COILING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9. 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 WNW INVENTOR $7P///V A. PZATT BY gar/W ATTORNEY 3 Maw}! 26, 1963 s. A. PLATT 7 3,082,810

WIRE COILING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9. 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR STEPHEN A. PLATT BY flaw W ATTORNEYS March 26, 1963 s. A. PLATT 3,

WIRE COILING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9. 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. sa /WEN ,4. P1477 United States Patent 3,082,810 WIRE CGILING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 358,403 9 Ciairns. (Cl. 153-64) This invention relates to Wire coiling machines, and more particularly to those machines which are used to wind helical coils of wire for heating elements or the like.

Wire coiling machines have been known for quite some time, but due to the problems inherent in their construction, it has not previously been possible to manufacture a wire coiling machine capable of hand-ling a large variation of wire sizes and coil diameters. This has been due principally to the difiiculty of keeping the helix angles of the coiling rolls substantially equal for widely differing mandrel sizes, and because of the vibration created by a machine heavy enough to handle coarse wire, which varies the pressure in fine wire work to the point of making the product unacceptable.

Other disadvantages of prior machines were the difficulty of accurately obtaining the identical pressure on two nonconsecutive runs of the same wire size and diameter; the lack of consistent accuracy due to deflection of the parts under load, difficulty of maintaining a constant mandrel-to-coiling roll speed ratio for different production speeds, and breakage of the wire from lack of trueness of the mandrel. Finally, in order to maintain a constant mandrel-to-coiling roll speed ratio for different operating speeds and mandrel sizes, it was previously necessary to make matching speed adjustments on the mandrel drive and the coiling roll drive, which required skill on the part of the operator and bred costly errors.

Prior machines of this type attempted to extend the range of workable mandrel sizes by zeroing in the machine at an average coil diameter and wire size. However, this me'thod still required the purchase of several sizes of machines for extended-range work.

The present invention solves all of the above-listed problems by improving prior art machines as follows: the coiling rolls are journaled in large half shells which allows each of them to be pivoted about an imaginary axis passing through the point of contact of the roll and the mandrel, while at the same time permitting lateral displacement of the rolls along this axis so as to keep their helix angles equal throughout the machines entire wide range. These half shells also distribute the weight of the rolls over a large area, thus giving the rolls firm unyielding support. The ball races and ring seats of the coiling rolls are ground simultaneously to assure absolute concentricity, and provision is made for the drive cables to extend through the central shafts of the coiling roll support brackets to eliminate any unequal twisting strains on the brackets or rolls. Constant applied pressure is assured by providing a pull yoke positioned in the reaction plane of the coiling pressure and equipped with a built-in torque wrench for consistent adjustment.

The power for the coiling rolls is taken directly from the mandrel drive spindle so as to assure proper setting of mandrel-to-coiling roll speed ratios regardless of the speed at which the machine is operated. Heavy cons-truction of the adjustable parts in the coiling roll adjustment means effectively prevents deflection under load, and a large drive force to the coiling rolls is provided to minimize the possibility of slipping. Long flexible collets inserted deep into the drive spindle are provided to hold the mandrel true and support it throughout almost all of its length, thus avoiding any eccentricity of the mandrel which would be likely to break brittle tungsten carbide mandrels. The spindle itself is supported in a heavy floating frame which attenuates vibrations transmitted from the motor.

These and other advantages of this invention will be readily understood from a perusal of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the machine of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section of the machine along line '2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section of the drive spindle along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section of a coiling roller and its drive along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial front elevation of the machine along line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a partial rear elevation of the machine along line 6-6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a detail section of the horizontal coiling rollers adjustment means along line 7-7 of FIG. 2.;

FIG. 8 is a detail elevation of the helix angle adjustment means along line 8-8 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the collet head and special collet wrench used with this machine;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the head assembly;

FIG. 11 is a vertical section along line 1111 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a vertical section along line 12-12 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a schematic front view of the machine when a small mandrel is being used;

FIG. 14 is a schematic side view of the machine in the condition of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a schematic front view of the machine when a large mandrel is used; and

FIG. 16 is a schematic side view of the machine under the conditions of FIG. 15.

Basically, the machine of this invention is a wire coiling machine similar in operation of that shown in my United States Patent 2,868,267. The machine receives wire from one or more rolls of appropriate wire stock, passes it through a lubricating bath of soap or oil, and winds it into a tight spiral between a pair of coiling rollers which bend the wire around a rotating mandrel determinative of the inner diameter of the finished coil.

The principal improvement provided by the present invention resides in the head structure of the machine, i.e. the portion of the machine which supports the coiling rolls and permits their adjustment. The principal innovation resides in. providing a supporting bracket for the coiling rolls which is so journaled in half-cylinders that the coiling roll can be tilted about an imaginary axis which is always located in the plane of the coiling ring, regardless of the helix angle (i.e. the angle between the coiling roll axis and the horizontal plane), and displaced laterally along this axis, so that the helix angles of the coiling rolls will always be equal and opposite, regardless of man drel size. This invention further provides for the coiling rolls being freely movable in a horizontal direction transverse to the mandrel, the coiling rolls being tightened against the mandrel by a yoke surrounding them. The yoke is provided with a slip clutch to prevent overtightening of the coiling rolls against the mandrel and thus damaging the delicate mechanism.

Finally, according to another aspect of the invention, the coiling mandrel is tightly mounted in a floating suspension so as to be impervious to the vibrations of the machine frame, which is necessary for the coiling of extremely fine wires.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a side elevation of the machine in general. A wire 20 to be coiled is unwound from a drum 22 of raw wire, passed through a lubricating solution contained in a tank 24 and around a free-running solution metering wheel 26. The function of the lubricant is to prevent overheating of the wire under the bending stress resulting from the coiling operation, and the lubricant is removed at a later stage of fabrication. From metering wheel 26, the wire is directed upwardly to the coiling head 28. Here it is grasped between the coiling ring of a rear coiling roll 32 and the mandrel 34, wound tightly about the mandrel 34, then grasped on the opposite side of the mandrel by coiling ring 36 of the forward coiling roll 38 and further bent around the mandrel 34. From there on, the wire 20 travels forwardly along the mandrel in the form of a coil 40 and is eventually taken off from the forward end of the mandrel for use. Power is supplied to the machine by a motor '42 which drives a pulley 44 from which power is transferred through a belt 46 to a conventional variable speed transmission 48 and thence over another belt 50 to the spindle drive pulley 52 (FIG. 3). The spindle drive pulley 52 imparts rotation to spindle 54, which in turn causes the take-off pulley 56 to rotate. From there, belt 58 transfers power to pulley 60 on jack shaft 62. Belt 64 in turn is driven by pulley 66 which is also mounted on jack shaft 62. Belt 64 drives the drive arbor pulley '68 which is a split pulley clamped onto a drive arbor 70 journaled for independent rotation in bearings 72, 74 which are press-fitted into the spindle 54. Drive arbor 70, which comes in various sizes to provide various mandrel-to-coiling roll speed ratios as will be hereinafter explained, frictionally drives the drive rolls 76 and 78 which are pivotally mounted on pins 80 and 82 by brackets 84, 86 and are pulled into engagement with drive arbor 70 by a spring 88. Journaled in drive rolls 76, 78 are flexible drive cables 90, 92 whose ends are hexagonal in cross section and slidably engage hexagonal central apertures in the caps 94, 96 so as to provide a splined drive to the coiling rolls 32, 38 through the intermediary of the caps 94, 96 screwed onto the forward faces of coiling rolls 32, 38. As appears more clearly from FIG. 4, the coiling rolls 32, 38 are journaled on brackets such as 98 by ball bearings such as 102 and 104. (The rear bearing of coiling roll 38 which would correspond to bearing 102 of coiling roll 32 is not visible in the drawings.) The brackets 98, are most clearly shown in their assembled relation in FIG. 4 and, as far as bracket 98 is concerned, FIG. 10; the bracket 100 is shown in a disassembled condition in FIG. 10. Each of the brackets 98, 100- has a cylindrical shaft 108, which supports an arcuate element or half-shell 112, 114, usually referred to as the roll shell. The roll shells 112, 114 each nest in a slotted arcuate member or half-shell 116, 118, usually termed the fixed shell, which is tied to the head plate by supporting members 122, 124 which fit into the channels 126, 128. The roll shells 112, 114 are held to their respective fixed shells 116, 118 by inner arcuate elements or half-shells 130, 132, usually known as the ball shells. The ball shells 132 slip over the shafts 108, 110 and are secured to them by nuts such as 134 which thread on the threaded portion of shafts 108 and 110 such as 136. All three shells on each side of the mandrel have a common axis A or B, respectively (FIGS. 2 and 5), which is perpendicular to the axis of the mandrel, and which passes through the initial point of contact of the wire with the roll on its side of the mandrel. The ball shells 130, 132 are equipped with hollow balls 138, through which the shafts 108, 110 extend in the assembled condition. The balls 138, 140 have a flattened side such as side 142 of ball 138 which receives setscrews 144 adapted to hold the parts in assembled relation if nut 134 should come loose. The balls 138, 140 fit into a slot 146 formed in the indexing disk 148. The indexing disk 148 fits int-o the large hole 150 of the head plate 120, its forward movement being limited 4 by the flange 152. After the indexing disk 148 has been inserted in the opening 150, it is attached therein by aflixing thereto the indexing lever 154 and the retaining washer 156. The coiling rolls 32, 38 are equipped with flanges 158, against which are pushed tightly fitting back-up rings 162, 164. Precision machined coiling rings 30,36 are then pushed against the back-up rings 162, 164 so as to form together with them an L-shaped cross section (see FIG. 4) which engages the wire to be coiled. Appropriate filler rings 166, 168 serve as spacers to hold the ring assemblies firmly in place between the flanges 158, 160 and the caps 94, 96. The front coiling roll 38 together with its bracket 100 and all the parts associated therewith can be moved backward and forward by moving the supporting member 124 in the channel 128. This is achieved by turning the knob 170 which extends through the opening 172 in supporting member 124 and the opening 174 in the channel 128. The knob 170 is held in place by nuts 176. The knob 170 has formed thereon an eccentric shoulder 178 which engages opening 172 in supporting member 124 so as to move the entire supporting member 124 and the parts supported by it back and forth as the knob 170 is turned. The supporting member 124 is also fastened to channel 128 by the screw 180 which extends through the hole 182 in the supporting member 124. The hole 182 is large enough to permit the previously described movement of supporting member 124, and a washer 184 is provided to prevent the head of screw 180 from going through the hole 182. Supporting member 122 is attached to channel 126 by screws extending through the holes 186 in supporting member 122. This permits an initial longitudinal adjustment of the position of coiling roll 32, but once this adjustment is made, the screws are tightened so that supporting member 122 cannot move any more. It will be noted that the fixed shells 116, 118 are provided with slots 188, 190 which permit movement of both coiling rolls and their brackets in a horizontal sidewise direction. The purpose of this arrangement is to allow the coiling rolls to be drawn aside while a dilferent sized mandrel is inserted in the machine. After a new mandrel 34 has been inserted, the coiling rolls 32, 38 are drawn together by the coaction of screw 192, which can be tightened by means of knob 193, and yoke pad 194. Yoke pad 194 is fastened on a U-shaped yoke 196 and presses against the outer side of shaft 108. The end of screw 192, in turn presses against the outer side of shaft 110. The ends of the yoke 196 are frictionally held in a clip 19S, fastened to screw 192, so that in the event of overtightening of the screw 192, the ends of yoke 196 will slip out of clip 198 and thus prevent cllamage to the coiling rolls from overtightening of screw As is more clearly apparent from FIGS. 3, 11 and 12, the spindle 54 is journaled in a pair of frame members 200, 202 spaced by four spacers 204 and held between a pair of mounting plates 206, 208 by bolts 210'. Rubber cushions 212 are interposed between the mounting plates 206, 208 and the frame members 200, 202 so as to absorb any vibration of the machine transmitted through mounting plates 206, 208. Thus, the spindle 54 and with it the mandrel 34, are floatingly suspended between the mounting plates 206 and 208.

Turning now again to FIG. 3, the mandrel 34 is held in place by a long thin collet 214. The collet 214 is screwthreaded at its inner end 216 so that it can be screwed onto a sleeve 218 fixedly held within spindle 54 by a pin 220 with respect to which the sleeve 218 has a very slight amount of play. As shown best in FIG. 9, the collet 214 can be tightened by a special tool 222 in the form of a hollow cylinder having a longitudinal bore 224 of suflicient size to fit over the mandrel 34 and a set of teeth 226 of the proper size and shape to engage notches 228 of the collet 214. Handles 230 are provided on the tool 222 to permit its being turned.

Assembly Following the assembly of the motor and variable speed transmission on the machine, the floating spindle frame 200, 202, 204 is next partially assembled by putting together the end plate 200, and spacers 204, grommets 212, and spindle 54 with its pulleys 52 and 56 and loosely fastening them to mounting plate 206 by means of the bolts 210. The belts 50 and 58 can now be slipped over the free ends of spindle 54 and spacers 204. The floating frame end plate 202 is now applied to the partly assembled floating frame, and grommets 212 are provided between end plate 202 and mounting plate 208, the bolts 210 are slipped through plate 208, and are fastened thereto by means of appropriate nuts. During this process, the end of spindle 54 has been slipped through the aperture in plate 208 which receives it. The head mounting plate 120 and indexing disk 148 are now assembled by inserting the indexing disk 148 in the opening 150 of the head mounting plate and securing it therein by aflixing the indexing lever 154 and the Washer 156. The coiling rolls are now mounted on their brackets and assembled with the fixed shells 116, 118 and the balls 13-8, 140. The head mounting plate 120 may in the meanwhile have been afiixed to mounting plate 206, and the coiling roll assemblies together with their supporting members may be mounted on the head mounting plate 120 by slipping supporting members 122, 124 into the channels 126, 128 provided therefor. In this condition of the machine, the balls 138, 140 will be centered at the ends of slot 146 of the indexing disk, and the end of spindle 54 which receives the collet 214 is protruding through the center of slot 146. The flexible drive cables 90, 92 attached to drive rolls 76, 78 are now slipped through shafts 108, 110 of the coiling rolls, and the caps 94, 96 are slipped over the cables and fastened to the front of the coiling rolls, after appropriate coiling and back-up rings such as 164, 36 and filler rings 168 as necessary, have been inserted over coiling rolls 3-2, 38. A suitable drive arbor 70 is now selected and the split pulley 68 is attached thereto after the drive arbor 70 has been inserted through the loop of belt 64 and into the bearing 72, 74 pressfitted into spindle 54. Similarly, an appropriate mandrel and collet are selected for the front end of the machine and are inserted into the spindle 54 between the coiling rolls, the collet 214 and mandrel 34 being fastened in the spindle 54 by screwing collet 214 onto sleeve 218 with the tool 222. The yoke 196 is now slipped over the shafts of the coiling rolls and into the friction clip 198, and screw 192 is tightened by means of knob 193 until the coiling rolls are brought together against the mandrel 34 with the appropriate degree of force. A spool of wire 22 is now mounted upon the bracket provided therefor on the top of the machine, and the wire 20 is threaded around the solution metering wheel 26 so as to pass through the lubricant bath 24, and is finally threaded around mandrel 34 between it and the coiling rolls 32 and 38. The machine is now ready to operate, providing the necessary adjustments of the helix angle and the advance of coiling roll 38 have been made as required by the dimensions of the wire and mandrel used.

Operation The machine of this invention is powered by the motor 42, which drives the pulley 44 from which power is transmitted through belt 46 to the variable speed transmission 48. This may be any conventional arrangement capable of providing a variety of speed relations between belt 46' and belt 50. Belt '50 transmits rotation to pulley 52 keyed to spindle 54, and hence to spindle 54 itself. From pulley 56 which is also keyed to spindle 54, belt 58 transmits rotation to the jack shaft 62 and from there back over belt 64 to the split pulley 68. Split pulley 68 is mounted on the drive arbor which is journaled in the bearings 72, 74 mounted inwardly of the spindle 54 so that drive arbor 70 can turn at a speed different from 6 that of the spindle 54. The drive arbor 70 in turn drives the drive rolls 7-6, 78 and it will be seen that the ratio between the speed of the spindle 54 and the speed of the drive rolls 76, 78 depends on the diameter of the drive arbor 70 selected. The drive rolls 76, 78 in turn rotate the flexible shafts 90, 92 which transmit their rotation through caps 94, 96 to the coiling rolls 32, 38. At the same time, the mandrel 34 is fixedly attached by collet 214 to the sleeve 218 which itself is keyed to the spindle 54, so that the mandrel 34 will rotate at the same speed as the spindle 54. It follows that the relative speed of the coiling rolls with respect to the mandrel is adjusted by selecting the proper drive arbor 70 for the work being done. Drive arbor 70 may be changed at any time by opening up the split pulley 68, pulling out the drive arbor 70 and inserting another one having different dimensions along that portion of its length along which it contacts the drive rolls 76, 78. Of course, the portion of the drive arbor 70 which fits into the bearings 72, 74 must be of constant diameter, as the bearings 72, 74 are the same for all drive arbors.

As previously mentioned, the helix angle, whose proper value depends both on the wire thickness and on the mandrel thickness, is adjusted by turning the indexing disk 148 by means of indexing lever 154, which in turn causes the rolls to tilt in the plane C or D, respectively ('FIG. 5). The front roll advance, which is determined only by the thickness of the wire, can be independently adjusted by turning knob 170 so as to cause eccentric 178 to move supporting member 124 forward in slide 128 as necessary. If it is now desired to make a coil of a different inner diameter, so that it is necessary to change the mandrel, this can be done by loosening the screw 192, grasping the coiling rolls and sliding them away from the mandrel, inserting the tool 222 and unscrewing the collet with the mandrel in it. A new mandrel and collet are then inserted into the sleeve 54, tightened by means of the tool 222, and the screw 192 is retightened until the coiling rolls are once again in contact with the mandrel 34. The drive arbor 70 may also have to be changed in such a case, in the manner previously described. The helix angle must be reset in any event, as lateral movement of the coiling rolls changes the helix angle setting. Referring now to FIGS. 13 through 16, it will be seen that in order to change applicants machine from one mandrel size to the other, the rolls 9'4, 96 are moved outwardly, not about any pivot point, but always in the plane P. Therefore, as the rolls 94, 96 are moved outwardly, the distance d between plane P and the centers of the balls 138, increases to d, but the balls 138, 140 are always equidistant from plane P. Therefore, the helix angles of the rolls 94, 96 change as the rolls 94, 96 are moved outwardly, but the helix angle of rolls 94 is always equal and opposite to the helix angle of roll 96. Consequently, applicants machine can always be brought into perfect adjustment with respect to helix angle by turning disc 148-, regardless of the size of the mandrel 34 used. Furthermore, the points of tangency are always diametrically opposed with respect to the mandrel axis. If the over-all production speed of the machine is changed by varying the setting of the variable speed transmission 48, the ratio of mandrel speed to coiling roll speed, which must remain constant for any given type of coiling, remains undisturbed and can be changed only by substituting another drive arbor 70.

It will be seen that this invention provides a highly versatile and efficient wire coiling machine which is extremely accurate, foolproof to operate, and is capable of coiling a range of wire sizes and coil diameters not approachable by existing machines. Evidently, many modifications of this invention are possible, and although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described herein, it is not desired that the invention be limited except as specifically set out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wire coiling machine comprising a rotating mandrel and at least two rotating coiling rolls cooperating with said mandrel to coil a wire therebetween, said coiling rolls each being mounted for tilting movement in a plane parallel to said mandrel about an axis normal to said mandrel and passing through the initial point of contact of said wire with said coiling roll, and for rectilinear movement parallel to said axis.

2. A wire coiling machine comprising a rotating mandrel and a rotating coiling roll having a coiling ring thereon and cooperating with said mandrel to coil a wire therebetWeen, said coiling roll being rotatably mounted on a bracket, said bracket comprising an arcuate shell-like bearing element having a radius at least on the order of the radius of said coiling roll and cooperating with a fixed arcuate bearing member for tilting movement of said bracket about an imaginary axis normal to said mandrel and lying in the plane of said coiling ring.

3. The device of claim 2, in which said bracket further comprises a second arcuate element, said arcua-te member being slidably received between said arcuate elements,

4. The device of claim 3, in which said arcuate membar and said arcuate elements are of substantially semicylindrical shape, and said arcuate member has an aperture formed therein of such dimensions as to permit limited movement of said bracket about said imaginary axis and also parallel thereto.

5. A wire coiling machine comprising a rotating mandrel, at least two rotating coiling rolls cooperating with said mandrel to coil a Wire therebetween, said coiling rolls each being mounted for tilting movement in a plane parallel to said mandrel about an axis normal to said mandrel and passing through the initial point of contact of said wire with said coiling roll, and means for moving said coiling roll in a direction parallel to said mandrel and rcctilinearly in a direction parallel to said axis.

6. A wire coiling machine comprising a rotating mandrel and a pair of rotating coiling rolls cooperating with said mandrel to coil a wire therebetewen, each of said coiling rolls being tiltable in a plane parallel to the axis of: rotation of said mandrel about an axis normal to said mandrel axis and passing through the point of initial contact of said wire with the coiling roll concerned, and an indexing disk rotatable about said mandrel axis in a plane normal thereto and having a diametrically disposed slot formed therein, each of said rolls having a head associated therewith, said heads being engaged by diametrically opposite halves of said slot, and said mandrel freely protruding through the center of said slot, whereby rotation of said indexing disk tilts said rolls with respect to said mandrel at the same angle but in opposite directions without transmitting vibration to said mandrel.

7. A Wire coiling machine comprising a rotating mandrel and a rotating coiling roll cooperating with said mandrel to coil a Wire therebetween, said coiling roll being mounted for tilting movement in a plane parallel to said mandrel about an axis normal to said mandrel and passing through the initial point of contact of said wire With said coiling roll, said mandrel being supported in a supporting member of substantial inertia, said supporting member being suspended for limited free movement with respect to the remainder of said machine.

8. A wire coiling machine comprising a rotating mandrel and a pair of rotating coiling rolls cooperating with said mandrel to coil a wire therebetween, said coiling rolls being supported so as to be freely movable along a straight line normal to the axis of rotation of said mandrel, and a yoke fioatingly surrounding said coiling rolls adjacent the plane containing the initial points of contact of said wire with said rolls, said yoke comprising means for pulling said rolls toward each other.

9. The device of claim 8, in which said last-named means include tightening means having an element arranged so as to prevent tightening said tightening means with a force greater than a predetermined maximum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,388,401 Freundlich NOV. 6, 1945 2,868,267 Platt Jan. 13, 1959 2,909,209 Ciccone et al. Oct. 20, 1959 

1. A WIRE COILING MACHINE COMPRISING A ROTATING MANDREL AND AT LEAST TWO ROTATING COILING ROLLS COOPERATING WITH SAID MANDREL TO COIL A WIRE THEREBETWEEN, SAID COILING ROLLS EACH BEING MOUNTED FOR TILTING MOVEMENT IN A PLANE PARALLEL TO SAID MANDREL ABOUT AN AXIS NORMAL TO SAID MANDREL AND PASSING THROUGH THE INITIAL POINT OF CONTACT OF SAID WIRE WITH SAID COILING ROLL, AND FOR RECTILINEAR MOVEMENT PARALLEL TO SAID AXIS. 